


Some Witty Title

by DeutchRemy



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eventual Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Father-Daughter Relationship, dadhop, sorry its more of the same shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeutchRemy/pseuds/DeutchRemy
Summary: It's another post-gate fic.  You all are so shocked, right?
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

The Blazer rocks a bit as Hop gets out, and again as he shuts his door. El opens her eyes groggily and thanks whoever that, aside from Joyce’s porch light glaring through the windshield at her, the car interior is dark. It’s quiet for a moment and then there’s the sound of gravel crunching under Hopper’s shoes as he walks around the front of the vehicle, over to the passenger side.

The door opens and the ceiling light turns on automatically. El whines and squeezes her eyes shut.

There’s a grumbled “Sorry, kid” then a click and the light is gone.

El feels hands on her, then, calloused hands that touch her cheek and her forehead and her hair. She smells Hopper’s familiar, comforting smell even under the decontamination shampoo that was scrubbed violently into his skin hours before.

He fumbles with shaking hands to undo her seatbelt, grumbling incoherently under his breath about car manufacturers, trying to hide the fact that his own anxiety is preventing him from unbuckling her swiftly.

Then he’s leaning all the way in, his cheek inches from hers, and his hands are under her armpits and he’s lifting her from the seat.

“Okay, here we go, here we go, I gotcha…” his voice rumbles deeply in his chest, and she can feel it reverberate in her own. It reminds El of when she would lean on him, her ear to his chest, as he would read aloud to her on the couch.

She uses her last reserve of strength to fist her hands in the back of the Hopper’s jacket, trying to anchor herself to him, and as she does he pulls her free from the car and stands up straight.

He quickly slides his forearm under her bottom and his suspicions are confirmed. She wet herself. He doesn’t know if it’s a result of exhaustion or of her terror as she confronted the Mind Flayer. Whatever the case, it breaks his heart into a million pieces and he moves one hand up to the back of her head so he can squeeze her tight and sob into her hair. 

After a minute he composes himself. He needs to get her inside. He uses his foot to shut the door of the Blazer. The lights are on in Joyce’s house, and Hopper expects to be mauled by a group of children as soon as he walks through the door. He’s surprised, but at the same time not, to find no children at all. Instead, he nearly trips over a muscle-head teenager with a stupid mullet lying in the middle of the floor. It’s Billy Hargrove.

He’ll deal with him later. Right now he needs to get El settled, contact Joyce, and figure out where the fuck the rest of the kids are.

He bends over, laying El on the sofa, before stripping off his jacket and placing it under the girl’s wet butt. She needs a bath before the urine burns her skin, but first he picks up the walkie and radios Joyce.

Jonathan picks up.

“Mom’s driving. We’re on our way home. Did she close it? Over”

“She closed it. El and I are back at your house but the other kids aren’t here and Billy Hargrove is passed out in the hallway. Over.”

There’s a pause and then “What the hell’s he doing there? Over.”

“I have no idea. Over.”

“How’s El? Over.” This time it’s Joyce.

“She’s exhausted and needs a bath. Over.”

“I can help you with that when I get back. Over.”

“How’s Will? Over.”

“It’s out. Over.”

“Thank god. Drive safe, Joyce. We’ll see you soon. I’m gonna rouse the idiot on the floor and see if he knows where the other kids went. Over and out.”

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

“Rise and shine, kid.” Hopper slaps Billy’s cheeks a little more forcefully than necessary. “C’mon, wakey wakey.”

“Awwwwwww thhhhhit.” The supine muscle-head groans as he comes to, throwing his palms over his eyes.

“Gotta do better than that, kid.” Hopper grabs the teen by his shirt collar and hoists him up into a sitting position. Billy groans and his eyes roll back in his head. 

“No, no, too dithy…” he mumbles, his tongue feeling like cotton.

“Listen to me very carefully. Where are the kids?”

“Thit, why’th my mouth tho dry?”

“Hey! Focus! Where…are…the…kids?”

“Thhh-“

“Moisten your tongue first, then talk, cuz you’re sounding like a fucking idiot.”

Billy takes a moment and does what Hopper says, probing the deepest recesses of his mouth for moisture.

“Wha-what kids?” He asks.

“Your sister and her friends!”

“She’s not my sister…now, please...stop shouting or I’m gonna puke all over the place.”

Hopper lets go of Billy’s collar, dropping him like a hot potato. The kid’s head hits the floor with a thud, eliciting less concern from the adult than it should. Hopper stands over him.

“I’m only gonna ask you this once more. Where is your not-sister and her friends?”

Billy’s holding the back of his head and looks near tears. “I don’t know! Stop asking me because I don’t know, okay?” He looks around the spinning room. “They must’ve just…taken off.”

“And Harrington? Did he go with them?”

“That preppy asshole? I - I guess? I don’t fucking know! Look, my dad’s gonna kick my ass if I come home without Max, so believe me, I wish I knew where she was, okay?”

Hopper runs a hand down his face in frustration. He and Joyce are responsible for those kids, and now they’re gone. He leaves Billy on the floor and begins to pace back and forth.

It takes five minutes, but the teenager is finally able to roll over and use his palms to push himself up onto his knees. He remains in that position for several more minutes, giving the blood time to circulate through his brain properly, before standing on two wobbly feet and staggering towards the door.

He doesn’t quite make it, though, dizziness sending him off trajectory and causing him to tumble over a recliner.

“FUCK!” He shouts, his voice muffled by the carpeted floor.

“What the hell are you doing?” Hopper asks from his spot on the couch, where he’s currently using a damp washcloth to wipe El’s face clean of blood and makeup. The scene would be, dare he say, amusing under normal circumstances.

“What’s it look like I’m doin? I’m goin home.” Billy disentangles himself from the chair and moves towards the door, throwing it open, and then screaming bloody murder “WHERE’S MY FUCKING CAR???”

Hopper considers this. So…if Billy arrived here in his own car, and now it’s gone…that means Steve took the kids somewhere in it…right? But why did they leave? Did they flee? Were they in danger? Did more demodogs arrive?

El makes a whimpering noise and he turns his attention to her. Her face looks better without the blood and makeup, but she really needs a bath. He’s contemplating tying Billy to a chair so he can bathe El without having to worry about the muscle-head running off into the night, when a pair of headlights appear at the far end of the driveway.

To be continued...


End file.
